Determining a position estimate of a mobile device based on layout information

ABSTRACT

It is inter-alia disclosed a method performed by a mobile device, the method including: receiving at least one radio signal when scanning for observable radio signals at an observation position of the mobile device; determining or causing determining a venue associated with an identifier contained in or represented by the at least one radio signal at least partially based on a plurality of venue information items; determining or causing determining a position estimate of the observation position at least partially based on layout information representing a layout of the venue associated with the identifier.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/368,063, filed on Mar. 28, 2019, the contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The invention relates to the field of determining a position estimate ofa position of a mobile device at least partially based on layoutinformation.

BACKGROUND

Satellite signal based positioning technologies, which are mainly usedoutdoors, are usually not suited to deliver a satisfactory performancewhen used for indoor positioning, since satellite radio signals ofglobal navigation satellite systems (GNSS), like the global positioningsystem (GPS) or the Galileo system, do not penetrate through walls androofs strongly enough for an adequate signal reception indoors. Thus,these positioning technologies are not able to deliver a performanceindoors that would enable seamless, equal and accurate navigationexperience outdoors and indoors.

SUMMARY OF SOME EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

According to an exemplary aspect of the invention, a method performed bya mobile device is disclosed, wherein the method comprises:

-   -   receiving at least one radio signal when scanning for observable        radio signals at an observation position of the mobile device;    -   determining or causing determining a venue associated with an        identifier contained in or represented by the at least one radio        signal at least partially based on a plurality of venue        information items; determining or causing determining a position        estimate of the observation position at least partially based on        layout information representing a layout of the venue associated        with the identifier.

The disclosed method may serve for determining a position estimate of aposition (e.g. the position estimate of the observation position) of themobile device at least partially based on layout information.

The mobile device may be an Internet-of-Thing (IoT) device, a smart homedevice, a mobile phone like a smart phone, a tablet computer, a notebookcomputer, a smart watch, and a smart band.

The mobile device may automatically and/or repeatedly scan forobservable radio signals. For example, the at least one radio signal maybe received by the mobile device when performing such an automaticand/or repeated scan for observable radio signals.

The at least one radio signal may be a terrestrial radio signal.Examples of such a terrestrial radio signal are a Bluetooth radio signal(e.g. a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio signal), a cellular networkradio signal, an low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) radio signal or awireless local area network (WLAN) radio signal. The Bluetooth standardsare specified by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and are presentlyavailable under https://www.bluetooth.com/. A cellular network may forexample be a mobile phone network like a 2G/3G/4G/5G cellularcommunication network. The 2G/3G/4G/5G cellular radio communicationstandards are developed by the 3GPP and presently available underhttp://www.3gpp.org/. Examples of LPWAN specifications are the LoRaWANspecification developed by the LoRa Alliance and presently availableunder https://lora-alliance.org/ as well as the Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT)specification developed by 3GPP and presently available underhttp://www.3gpp.org/. WLAN is for example specified by the standards ofthe IEEE 802.11 family (http://www.ieee.org/).

A radio signal may be understood to be observable at a certain positionif the radio signal is receivable by the mobile device with a minimumquality (e.g. a minimum signal-to-noise ratio and/or a minimum signalpower, e.g. at least −90 dbm or −95 dbm) at this position. Accordingly,the at least one radio signal may be receivable by the mobile devicewith such a minimum quality at the observation position such that it isreceived by the mobile device when scanning for observable radio signalsat the observation position of the mobile device.

Moreover, if in addition to the at least one radio signal one or morefurther radio signals are receivable by the mobile device with such aminimum quality at the observation position, the one or more furtherradio signals may be received by the mobile device in addition to the atleast one radio signal when scanning for observable radio signals at theobservation position. It is thus to be understood that more than the atleast one radio signal may be received by the mobile device whenscanning for observable radio signals at the observation position of themobile device. If more than the at least one radio signal are receivedby the mobile device when scanning for observable radio signals at theobservation position of the mobile device, one or more radio signals(e.g. the at least one radio signal) of the received radio signals maybe selected from the received radio signals for further processing (e.g.such that the further steps of the method are only performed for theselected radio signals), or each of the received radio signals may befurther processed (e.g. such that the further steps of the method may beperformed for each of the received radio signals). For example, for eachof the further processed radio signals (i.e. the selected one or moreradio signals or each of the received radio signals) a respective venueassociated with the respective identifier contained in or represented bythe respective radio signal is determined and, subsequently, arespective position estimate of the observation position is determinedat least partially based on layout information representing the layoutof the respective venue associated with the respective identifier.Accordingly, the disclosure regarding the further processing of the atleast one radio signal (e.g. regarding determining the venue associatedwith the identifier contained in or represented by the at least oneradio signal and determining the position estimate of the observationposition at least partially based on layout information representing thelayout of the venue associated with the identifier) is to be understoodas disclosure for further processing of each of the further processedradio signals. If more than one position estimate of the observationposition is determined, only one of the position estimates may befurther processed and the other position estimates may be discarded, forexample only the position estimate of the position estimates which isclosest to the last or current known position (e.g. the last or currentknown GNSS or cellular or WLAN position) of the mobile device may befurther processed.

The observation position may be understood to be the geographic positionof the mobile device when scanning for observable radio signals.

A venue may be understood to be or to relate to a certain point ofinterest (POI). Examples of such a POI are a restaurant, a coffee shop,a hotel, a museum, a school, a university, a shop, a shopping mall, etc.

That the venue is associated with the identifier contained in orrepresented by the at least one radio signal is determined at leastpartially based on a plurality of venue information items may beunderstood to mean that the plurality of venue information items areconsidered when determining the venue associated with the identifiercontained in or represented by the at least one radio signal.

An identifier contained in or represented by a certain radio signal(e.g. the identifier contained in or represented by the at least oneradio signal) may be understood to be an identifier of a radio devicetransmitting the certain radio signal. The identifier may be containedin or represented by the radio signal in form of modulated and/orencoded identifier information representing the identifier. Non limitingexamples of such an identifier are a name, an address (e.g. a MACaddress or an IP address), a universally unique identifier (UUID), aservice set identifier (SSID), a basic service set identifier (BSSID) ora cell identifier (cell ID).

For example, a venue may be understood to be associated with anidentifier contained in or represented by the at least one radio signalif the at least one radio signal is transmitted by a radio deviceinstalled in or provided by the venue. To this end, it may be assumedthat the identifier contained in or represented by the at least oneradio signal contains or represents at least a portion of the name of acertain venue if the at least one radio signal is transmitted by a radiodevice installed in or provided by this certain venue. For example, aradio signal transmitted by a radio device installed in or provided by avenue having the name “Joe's Coffee Shop” may contain or represent“Joe's Coffee—WiFi” as identifier.

Moreover, each of the plurality of venue information items may beassociated with a respective venue and may represent a name of therespective venue which is associated with the respective venueinformation item.

Determining the venue associated with the identifier contained in orrepresented by the at least one radio signal may thus be understood tomean (1) that a match is determined between the identifier contained inor represented by the at least one radio signal and a respective namerepresented by a respective venue information item of the plurality ofvenue information items and (2) that the venue which is associated withthe respective venue information item of the plurality of venueinformation items representing the matching name is determined to beassociated with the identifier contained in or represented by the atleast one radio signal.

For example, the match between the identifier contained in orrepresented by the at least one radio signal and a respective namerepresented by a respective venue information item of the plurality ofvenue information items may be determined based on predetermined ruleslike a predetermined matching algorithm, for example a string searchingalgorithm or an approximate string matching algorithm.

According to a simple matching algorithm, a match may for example bedetermined by, firstly, determining, for each name represented by theplurality of venue information items, the respective length of thelongest substring contained in the respective name and the respectiveidentifier and by, secondly determining the respective name of therespective venue information item of the plurality of venue informationitems containing the substring having the longest length (i.e. no othersubstring has a longer length) to match the identifier. Considering theabove example where a radio signal transmitted by a radio deviceinstalled in or provided by a venue contains or represents “Joe'sCoffee—WiFi” as identifier, the name “Joe's Coffee shop” shares “Joe'sCoffee” as longest substring with this identifier, whereas the name“Joey's Coffee shop” only shares“'s Coffee” as longest substring withthis identifier. According to this example, the name “Joe's Coffee shop”which contains the substring having the longer length may thus bedetermined to match the identifier “Joe's Coffee—WiFi” based on theabove disclosed simple matching algorithm. It is however to beunderstood that the present invention is not limited to this simplematching algorithm.

Causing determining the venue associated with the identifier containedin or represented by the at least one radio signal may be understood tomean that the mobile device causes another device (e.g. a server) toperform the determining, for example by transmitting control informationto the other device configured to cause the other device to perform thedetermining.

Accordingly, the plurality of venue information items may be holdavailable by (e.g. stored in a memory of) the device performing thedetermining (e.g. the mobile device or the other device caused by themobile device to perform the determining). Alternatively oradditionally, the plurality of venue information items may be accessibleby (e.g. accessible via a network connection by) the device performingthe determining (e.g. the mobile device or the other device caused bythe mobile device to perform the determining). For example, theplurality of venue information items may be part of a database that ishold available or accessible by this device.

Determining a position estimate of the observation position at leastpartially based on layout information representing a layout of the venueassociated with the identifier may be understood to mean that the layoutrepresented by the layout information is considered when determining theposition estimate of the observation position. It is to be understoodthat the observation position may deviate from the position estimateobtained as a result of the determining.

A position estimate of the observation position obtained as a result ofthe determining may be understood to represent one of (1) a position(e.g. a geographic position) that is estimated to correspond to theobservation position or (2) a position of an area (e.g. a geographicarea) that is estimated to cover the observation position. A positionmay be represented in form of position coordinates (e.g. geographicposition coordinates like longitude and latitude) representing theposition; and a position of an area may be represented in form ofposition coordinates (e.g. geographic position coordinates likelongitude and latitude) representing at least one of (1) one or moreboundary points of the area or (2) a center of the area. In a simpleexample, a circular area and a rectangular area may be represented byposition coordinates representing the position of the center of thecircular area and the rectangular area, respectively. According to thissimple example, if the circular area or the rectangular area isestimated to cover the observation position, the position estimate ofthe observation position obtained as a result of the determining maysimply represent the center of the circular area or the rectangulararea. In a more complex example, the circular may be represented byposition coordinates representing the position of the center of thecircular area and a radius value defining the boundary points of thecircular area; and the rectangular area may be represented by positioncoordinates (e.g. geographic position coordinates) representing theposition of the corners (i.e. boundary points) of the rectangular area.According to this more complex example, if the circular area or therectangular area is estimated to cover the observation position, theposition estimate of the observation position obtained as a result ofthe determining may represent the position of the center of the circulararea and the radius value or the position of the corners of therectangular area.

The layout of the venue may be understood to be representative of aposition (e.g. a geographic position) of at least one of a certain area(e.g. an entrance or exit area or a common area like a seating area, awaiting area, a walking area or a service or sales area) or a certainfeature (e.g. outer boundaries or walls, an entrance or an exit) of thevenue. An example of a layout of the venue may be a floor map of thevenue. Accordingly, a position of at least one of a certain area or acertain feature represented by the layout of the venue may be determinedas position estimate of the observation position. To this end, it may bedetermined based on predetermined rules in which area or close to whichfeature of the venue the observation position of the mobile device islocated. For example the predetermined rules may specify that, if themobile device automatically and/or repeatedly scans for observable radiosignals and receives the at least one radio signal at the observationposition for the first time, the position estimate of the observationposition may be determined to be a position of one of (1) an area orposition outside outer boundaries or walls of the venue, (2) an entranceor exit area of the venue or (3) an entrance or exit of the venue; and,if the mobile device automatically and/or repeatedly scans forobservable radio signals and has received the at least one radio signalmore than a predetermined threshold number before, the position estimateof the observation position may be determined to be a position of one of(1) an area or position inside outer boundaries or walls of the venue or(2) a common area of the venue (e.g. a seating area, a waiting area, awalking area or a service or sales area of the venue). It is to beunderstood that the present invention is not limited to this example andthat the determining may be performed based on additional or otherinformation (e.g. motion of the mobile device or received signalstrength of the at least one radio signal as disclosed below in moredetail).

The layout information representing the layout of the venue may be partof the venue information item associated with the venue (i.e. the venuethat is determined to be associated with the identifier contained in orrepresented by the at least one radio signal).

Causing determining a position estimate of the observation position atleast partially based on layout information representing a layout of thevenue associated with the identifier may be understood to mean that themobile device causes another device (e.g. a server) to perform thedetermining, for example by transmitting control information to theother device configured to cause the other device to perform thedetermining.

Accordingly, the layout information may be hold available by (e.g.stored in a memory of) the device performing the determining (e.g. themobile device or the other device caused by the mobile device to performthe determining). Alternatively or additionally, the layout informationmay be accessible by (e.g. accessible via a network connection by) thedevice performing the determining (e.g. the mobile device or the otherdevice caused by the mobile device to perform the determining).

The disclosed method thus enables to consider a layout of the venue whendetermining a position estimate of the observation position and to takeeven further information into consideration when determining theposition estimate. This has for example the effect that the expectedaccuracy of the position estimate is increased, for example incomparison to solutions which only consider a single geographic positionof the venue when determining such a position estimate.

According to a further exemplary aspect of the invention, an apparatusis disclosed, wherein the apparatus comprises means for performing thesteps of any one embodiment of the disclosed method or a part thereof(e.g. at least some steps of any one embodiment of the disclosedmethod).

The means of the disclosed apparatus can be implemented in hardwareand/or software. They may comprise for instance a processor forexecuting computer program code for realizing the required functions, amemory storing the program code, or both. Alternatively, they couldcomprise for instance circuitry that is designed to realize the requiredfunctions, for instance implemented in a chipset or a chip, like anintegrated circuit. The disclosed apparatus may comprise a single meansfor all functions, a common plurality of means for all functions, or aplurality of different means for different functions.

According to a further exemplary aspect of the invention, an apparatusis disclosed, wherein the apparatus comprises at least one processor andat least one memory containing computer program code, the at least onememory and the computer program code with the at least one processorconfigured to cause the apparatus at least to perform any one embodimentof the disclosed method (e.g. the steps of any one embodiment of thedisclosed method) or a part thereof (e.g. at least some steps of any oneembodiment of the disclosed method).

For example, the disclosed apparatus(es) may be (a) module(s) (e.g. (a)component(s)) for (a) mobile device(s), for example (a) chip(s) orchipset(s). Alternatively, the disclosed apparatus(es) may be (a) mobiledevice(s). As disclosed above, the mobile device may be anInternet-of-Thing (IoT) device, a smart home device, a mobile phone likea smart phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a smart watch,and a smart band.

It is to be understood that the disclosed apparatus(es) may compriseonly the disclosed components (e.g. means) or may further comprise oneor more additional components (e.g. means). Examples of such additionalcomponents are a radio interface (e.g. a receiver, a transmitter and/ora transceiver), a data interface, a user interface (e.g. atouch-sensitive display, a keyboard, a touchpad, a display, etc.), asensor, etc.

According to a further exemplary aspect of the invention, a system isdisclosed which comprises a mobile device (e.g. an apparatus asdisclosed above in form of a mobile device) and at least one of (1) aserver and (2) a radio device (e.g. a radio device installed in orprovided by a venue, the radio device transmitting the at least oneradio signal as disclosed above).

According to a further exemplary aspect of the invention, anon-transitory computer readable storage medium is disclosed, in whichcomputer program code is stored. The computer program code causes anapparatus to perform any one embodiment of the disclosed method (e.g.the steps of any one embodiment of the disclosed method) when executedby a processor or by a plurality of processors. The computer programcode could be stored in the computer readable storage medium in the formof instructions encoding the computer-readable storage medium. Thecomputer readable storage medium may be intended for taking part in theoperation of a device, like an internal or external hard disk of acomputer, or be intended for distribution of the program code, like anoptical disc.

According to a further exemplary aspect of the invention, a computerprogram code is disclosed, the computer program code when executed by aprocessor (or by a plurality of processors) causing an apparatus toperform any one embodiment of the disclosed method (e.g. the steps ofany one embodiment of the disclosed method).

The disclosed method, apparatus(es), system, non-transitory computerreadable storage medium and computer program code may serve fordetermining a position estimate of a position of a/the mobile device atleast partially based on layout information.

In the following, further features and embodiments of these exemplaryaspects of the invention will be described.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the methodfurther comprises:

-   -   extracting the identifier from the at least one radio signal.

As disclosed above, the identifier may be contained in or represented bythe at least one radio signal in form of modulated and/or encodedidentifier information representing the identifier. Accordingly,extracting the identifier from the at least one radio signal may beunderstood to comprise demodulating and/or decoding the identifierinformation from the at least one radio signal. As a result of theextracting, the identifier information representing the identifier maybe obtained.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the methodfurther comprises:

-   -   capturing a received signal strength of the at least one radio        signal when scanning for observable radio signals at the        observation position.

Capturing the received signal strength when scanning for observableradio signals at the observation position may be understood to mean thata received signal strength parameter representing the received signalstrength of the at least one radio signal at the observation position isdetermined (e.g. measured) when the at least one radio signal isreceived when scanning for observable radio signals at the observationposition. An example of such a received signal strength parameter is areceived signal strength value in dBm or a received signal strengthindicator (RSSI) value. As a result of the capturing, a received signalstrength information representing the determined (e.g. measured)received signal strength parameter may be obtained.

It is to be understood that, if more than the at least one radio signalare received when scanning for observable radio signals at theobservation position, for each of the received radio signals arespective received signal strength may be captured. Moreover, if morethan the at least one radio signal are received when scanning forobservable radio signals at the observation position, one or more radiosignals (e.g. the at least one radio signal) of the received radiosignals may be selected from the received radio signals for furtherprocessing based on the received signal strengths. For example, theradio signal of the received radio signals having the strongest receivedsignal strength may be selected for further processing (e.g. such thatthe further steps of the method are only performed for the selectedradio signal). Alternatively, the radio signals of the received radiosignals having a respective received signal strength stronger than apredetermined threshold received signal strength may be selected forfurther processing (e.g. such that the further steps of the method areonly performed for the selected radio signals).

Alternatively or additionally, the received signal strength of the atleast one radio signal may be considered when determining the positionestimate. For example, the position estimate may be determined furtherbased on the received signal strength of the at least one radio signal.

As disclosed above, the layout of the venue may be understood to berepresentative of a position (e.g. a geographic position) of at leastone of a certain area (e.g. an entrance or exit area or a common arealike a seating area, a waiting area, a walking area or a service orsales area) or a certain feature (e.g. outer boundaries or walls, anentrance or an exit) of the venue. Accordingly, a position of at leastone of a certain area or a certain feature represented by the layout ofthe venue may be determined as position estimate of the observationposition. To this end, it may be determined based on predetermined rulesin which area or close to which feature of the venue the observationposition of the mobile device is located. For example the predeterminedrules may specify that, if the received signal strength of the at leastone radio signal is equal to or stronger than a predetermined receivedsignal strength threshold, the position estimate of the observationposition may be determined to be a position of one of (1) an area orposition inside outer boundaries or walls of the venue or (2) a commonarea of the venue (e.g. a seating area, a waiting area, a walking areaor a service or sales area of the venue); and, if the received signalstrength of the at least one radio signal is weaker than thepredetermined received signal strength threshold, the position estimateof the observation position may be determined to be a position of atleast one of (1) an area or position outside outer boundaries or wallsof the venue, (2) an entrance or exit area of the venue or (3) anentrance or exit of the venue. It is to be understood that the presentinvention is not limited to this example and that the determining may beperformed based on additional or other information (e.g. motion of themobile device as disclosed below in more detail).

Since a strong received signal strength of a radio signal typicallyindicates that the distance to the radio device transmitting the radiodevice is short, considering the received signal strength as disclosedabove has for example the effect that the expected accuracy of theposition estimate is further increased, for example in comparison tosolutions not considering the received signal strength.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the methodfurther comprises:

-   -   capturing a motion of the mobile device (e.g. at the observation        position or when scanning for observable radio signals at the        observation position).

Capturing the motion of the mobile device may be understood to mean thata motion parameter that is characteristic of the captured motion of themobile device is determined (e.g. measured). Examples of such a motionparameter are a speed parameter representative of a speed value of themobile device or of a user of the mobile device, an accelerationparameter representative of an acceleration value of the mobile deviceor of a user of the mobile device, an activity parameter representativeof an activity (e.g. static, sitting, walking, running, cycling,swimming, etc.) of mobile device or of a user of the mobile device, astep parameter representative of a step length or step count of a userof mobile device when capturing the motion of the mobile device. As aresult of the capturing, a motion information representing thedetermined (e.g. measured) motion parameter may be obtained.

For example, the motion of the mobile device (e.g. at the observationposition or when scanning for observable radio signals at theobservation position) may be considered when determining the positionestimate. For example, the position estimate may be determined furtherbased on the motion of the mobile device (e.g. at the observationposition or when scanning for observable radio signals at theobservation position).

As disclosed above, the layout of the venue may be understood to berepresentative of a position (e.g. a geographic position) of at leastone of a certain area (e.g. an entrance or exit area or a common arealike a seating area, a waiting area, a walking area or a service orsales area) or a certain feature (e.g. outer boundaries or walls, anentrance or an exit) of the venue. Accordingly, a position of at leastone of a certain area or a certain feature represented by the layout ofthe venue may be determined as position estimate of the observationposition. To this end, it may be determined based on predetermined rulesin which area or close to which feature of the venue the observationposition of the mobile device is located. For example the predeterminedrules may specify that, if the mobile device is/was in motion (e.g. auser carrying the mobile device is/was walking or running) when scanningfor observable radio signals at the observation position, the positionestimate of the observation position may be determined to be a positionof one of a (1) a walking area of the venue, (2) an entrance or exitarea of the venue or (3) an entrance or exit of the venue; and, if themobile device is/was static (e.g. a user carrying the mobile deviceis/was sitting) when scanning for observable radio signals at theobservation position, the position estimate of the observation positionmay be determined to be a position of at least one of (1) a seating areof the venue or (2) a waiting area of the venue. It is to be understoodthat the present invention is not limited to this example and that thedetermining may be performed based on additional or other information(e.g. the received signal strength of the at least one radio signal asdisclosed above in more detail).

Considering the motion of the mobile device when determining theposition estimate as disclosed above has for example the effect that theexpected accuracy of the position estimate is further increased, forexample in comparison to solutions not considering the motion.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the layout of thevenue (e.g. the layout of the venue represented by the layoutinformation) is representative of a position of at least one of:

-   -   outer boundaries or outer walls of the venue;    -   an entrance or an exit of the venue;    -   an entrance or exit area of the venue;    -   a seating area of the venue;    -   a waiting area of the venue;    -   a walking area of the venue;    -   a service or sales area of the venue;    -   a common or public area of the venue;    -   a private area of the venue.

That the layout of the venue (e.g. the layout of the venue representedby the layout information) is representative of a position of such afeature or area of the venue may be understood to mean that the layoutis configured to enable determining the position coordinates of theposition (e.g. in form of geographic position coordinates like longitudeand latitude or in form of GNSS coordinates).

As disclosed above, an example of a layout of the venue may be a floormap of the venue. For example, the layout information may represent sucha floor map of the venue. The floor map may represent the position ofone or more of certain features of the venue (e.g. outer boundaries orwalls, entrance or exit) and certain areas of the venue (e.g. entranceor exit area, seating area, waiting area, walking area, service or salesarea, common or public area, private area). For example, the floor mapmay represent the position(s) of the one or more of the certain featuresand certain areas of the venue relatively to a predetermined geographicposition of the venue (e.g. a predetermined point of interest positionof the venue). Alternatively, the floor map may represent the geographicposition(s) of the one or more of the certain features and certainareas.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the methodfurther comprises:

-   -   determining a confidence level associated with the position        estimate at least partially based on a venue information item of        the plurality of venue information items, wherein the venue        information item of the plurality of venue information items is        associated with the venue.

A confidence level may be understood to qualitatively or quantitativelyrepresent a probability that the position estimate of the observationposition is correct (i.e. the position estimate of the observationposition correctly represents the observation position). For example,the higher the confidence level the higher the probability that theposition estimate of the observation position is correct.

The determining may be performed according to predetermined rules. As aresult of the determining, confidence level information representing thedetermined confidence level may be obtained.

That the confidence level associated with the position estimate isdetermined at least partially based on the venue information item of theplurality of venue information items associated with the venue may beunderstood to mean that this venue information item is considered whenthe confidence level is determined. For example, the confidence levelmay be determined at least partially based on at least one of venue typeinformation, opening hours information or visit frequency informationrepresented by the venue information item of the plurality of venueinformation items.

Venue type information may represent the type of the venue. Examples ofsuch a type of the venue are “restaurant”, “coffee shop”, “hotel”,“museum”, “school”, “university”, “shop”, “shopping mall”, etc. Openinghours information may represent the opening hours of the venue. Visitfrequency information may represent a visit frequency profile of thevenue over a day. Since it is rather unlikely that the observationposition is/was inside the venue when the venue is closed or the visitfrequency of the venue is low, the venue type information, the openinghours information and the visit frequency information may be helpful indetermining the confidence level. For example, the predetermined rulesmay specify that, if venues of the same venue type as represented by thevenue type information are typically closed at the time the at least oneradio signal is/was received, the confidence level associated with theposition estimate is determined to be low and, otherwise, the confidencelevel associated with the position estimate is determined to be high.Alternatively or additionally, the predetermined rules may specify that,if the venue is/was closed according to the opening hours as representedby the opening hours information at the time the at least one radiosignal is/was received, the confidence level associated with theposition estimate is determined to be low and, otherwise, the confidencelevel associated with the position estimate is determined to be high.Alternatively or additionally, the predetermined rules may specify that,if the visit frequency of the venue is low as represented by the visitfrequency information at the time the at least one radio signal is/wasreceived, the confidence level associated with the position estimate isdetermined to be low and, otherwise, the confidence level associatedwith the position estimate is determined to be high. It is to beunderstood that the present invention is not limited to these exemplarypredetermined rules.

As disclosed above, if more than the at least one radio signal isreceived when scanning for observable radio signals at the observationposition, each of the received radio signals or one or more selectedradio signals may be further processed such that, for each of thefurther processed radio signals, a respective venue associated with therespective identifier contained in or represented by the respectiveradio signal is determined and, subsequently, a respective positionestimate of the observation position is determined at least partiallybased on layout information representing the layout of the respectivevenue associated with the respective identifier such that more than oneposition estimate is obtained. Moreover, for each of the positionestimates, a respective confidence level associated with the respectiveposition estimate may be determined as disclosed above. This may forexample be advantageous when the position estimates are furtherprocessed (e.g. displayed to a user). For example, only the positionestimate associated with the highest confidence level may be furtherprocessed; the other position estimates may be discarded. Alternativelyor additionally, the confidence levels associated with the positionestimates may be considered when further processing the positionestimates.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the methodfurther comprises:

-   -   presenting the position estimate of the observation (e.g. to a        user).

For example, the position estimate of the observation position ispresented by a user interface, for example by displaying the positionestimate. In particular, the position estimate may be presented asposition point in a map view displayed on a display of the mobiledevice. As disclosed above, if more than one position estimate isobtained, only the position estimate associated with highest confidencelevel may be displayed; alternatively or additionally, the positionestimate(s) may be displayed together with an indication of theconfidence level associated with the (respective) position estimate(e.g. by use of different colors, shadings or icons).

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the at least oneradio signal is one of:

-   -   a Bluetooth radio signal (e.g. a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)        radio signal);    -   a wireless local area network (WLAN) radio signal;    -   a low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) radio signal;    -   a cellular network radio signal.

Accordingly, the at least one radio signal may be transmitted by one ofthe following radio devices:

-   -   a Bluetooth beacon (e.g. a Bluetooth beacon enabling Bluetooth        low energy mode or a Bluetooth low energy beacon);    -   an access point of a wireless local area network (WLAN);    -   an access point of a low-power wide area network (LPWAN); and    -   a cellular network node.

The Bluetooth beacons may comprise a Bluetooth and/or BLE radiointerface, which includes at least a Bluetooth and/or BLE transmitter.The Bluetooth and/or BLE transmitter may also be a part of a Bluetoothand/or BLE transceiver. The Bluetooth and/or BLE radio interface may beconfigured to transmit Bluetooth and or BLE radio signals. Bluetoothtechnologies are supported by many mobile devices by default such asmost smartphones, most tablet computers, most notebook computers, mostsmart watches and most smart bands, etc. Using Bluetooth radio signalsmay thus have the effect that many mobile devices may be able to receivethe at least one radio signal.

A WLAN access point may comprise a WLAN radio interface, which forexample includes a WLAN transceiver. The WLAN radio interface may beconfigured to transmit and/or receive WLAN radio signals. Accordingly,the radio signal transmitted by such an access point may be a WLAN radiosignal. Since venues often provide a public WLAN access point and mostmobile devices support WLAN, using WLAN radio signals may thus allow tomake use of the existing WLAN access point infrastructure and to enablemost mobile devices to be able to receive the at least one radio signal.

An LPWAN access point may comprise an LPWAN radio interface, which forexample includes an LPWAN transceiver. The LPWAN radio interface may beconfigured to transmit and/or receive LPWAN radio signals. Accordingly,the radio signal transmitted by such an access point of an LPWAN may bean LPWAN radio signal.

A cellular network node may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or anode-B of a cellular network like a 2G/3G/4G/5G cellular communicationnetwork. A cellular network node may comprise a cellular radiointerface, which for example includes a 2G/3G/4G/5G to transceiver.Accordingly, the radio signal transmitted by such cellular network nodemay be a 2G/3G/4G/5G cellular radio signal.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the identifier ofthe at least one radio signal is one of:

-   -   a protocol data unit (PDU);    -   a universally unique identifier (UUID);    -   a service set identifier (SSID);    -   a basic service set identifier (BSSID);    -   a cell identifier (cell ID).

A protocol data unit (PDU) may for example be understood to be a PDUaccording to according to a Bluetooth specification (e.g. a BLEspecification).

A universally unique identifier (UUID) may for example be contained inor represented by a Bluetooth radio signal.

An SSID or BSSID may for example be contained in or represented by aWLAN radio signal

A cell identifier may be understood to be a cell ID (CID) or UTRAN cellID (LCID) which is contained in or represented by a cellular radiosignal like a 2G/3G/4G/5G cellular radio signal.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the venue is apoint of interest (POI). As disclosed above, examples of such a POI area restaurant, a coffee shop, a hotel, a museum, a school, a university,a shop, a shopping mall, etc.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the plurality ofvenue information items is part of a point of interest (POI) database.Such a POI database may for example comprise a plurality of POI dataitems (e.g. corresponding to the plurality of venue information items),wherein each POI data item of the plurality of POI data items may beassociated with a respective POI and represent information about therespective POI. For example the information about the POI may representone or more of a name, a geographic position, a type, opening hours, avisit frequency, contact details (e.g. address, phone number, websiteaddress, email address, etc.), a layout of the POI. An example dataformat for such a POI data item is the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)data format or the Extensible Markup Language (XML) data format.

It is to be understood that the POI database may be hold available by aserver and may be accessed by a device like the mobile device via anetwork connection. Alternatively, the POI database may for example behold available locally by a device like the mobile device.

It is to be understood that the presentation of the invention in thissection is merely by way of examples and non-limiting.

Other features of the invention will become apparent from the followingdetailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings aredesigned solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition ofthe limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to theappended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings arenot drawn to scale and that they are merely intended to conceptuallyillustrate the structures and procedures described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a systemaccording to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of an apparatusaccording to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a methodaccording to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a an exemplary embodiment of a layout of a venue according tothe invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of examples of tangible andnon-transitory storage media according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description serves to deepen the understanding of thepresent invention and shall be understood to complement and be readtogether with the description of example embodiments of the invention asprovided in the above SUMMARY section of this specification.

FIG. 1 is a schematic high-level block diagram of a system 100 accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the invention. System 100 is part of anindoor environment with different venues or POIs like a newspaper kiosk101, a coffee shop 102 and a clothes shop 103.

System 100 comprises a mobile device 200 and radio devices 104 to 106.It is to be understood that system 100 may comprise further radiodevices and/or mobile devices. In the following, it is thus referred tomobile device 200 and radio devices 104 to 106 without limiting thescope of the invention.

For example, mobile device 200 may be a mobile device of a guest ofcoffee shop 102 and, thus, it is positioned in coffee shop 105 as shownin FIG. 1 . Examples of mobile device 200 are a smartphone, a tabletcomputer, a notebook computer, a smart watch and a smart band.

Radio devices 104 to 106 may be WLAN access points. It is to beunderstood that system 100 is not limited to WLAN access points as radiodevices 104 to 106. In the following, it is thus referred to radiodevices 104 to 106 as WLAN access points 104 to 106 for exemplarypurposes only without limiting the scope of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 , WLAN access point 104 is installed in newspaperkiosk 104, WLAN access point 105 is installed in coffee shop 102 andWLAN access point 106 is installed in clothes shop 103. In particular,WLAN access points 104 to 106 may be installed in and provided by therespective one of newspaper kiosk 101, coffee shop 102 and clothes shop103 in order to provide WLAN access to guests of the respective venue orPOI. To this end, each of WLAN access points 104 to 106 may beconfigured for automatically and repeatedly transmitting a respectiveWLAN radio signal containing or representing a respective basic serviceset identifier (BSSID) identifying the respective one of newspaper kiosk101, coffee shop 102 and clothes shop 103 that provides the respectiveWLAN access point that has transmitted the respective WLAN radio signal,for example the respective BSSID may contain or represent at least aportion of the name of the respective one of newspaper kiosk 101, coffeeshop 102 and clothes shop 103. In the following, it is assumed thatnewspaper kiosk 101 has the name “Jim's News” and that WLAN radio signal107 transmitted by WLAN access point 104 contain or represent “Jim'sNews—free WiFi” as BSSID, that coffee shop 102 has the name “Joe'sCoffee Shop” and that WLAN radio signal 108 transmitted by WLAN accesspoint 105 contains or represents “Joe's Coffee Shop—WiFi” as BSSID andthat clothes shop 103 has the name “Clothes & More” and that WLAN radiosignal 108 transmitted by WLAN access point 105 contains or represents“clothes and more—guest wlan” as BSSID. As disclosed above, WLAN isspecified by the standards of the IEEE 802.11 family(http://www.ieee.org/).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a mobile deviceaccording to the invention. In the following, it is assumed that thismobile device corresponds to mobile device 200 of system 100 of FIG. 1 .

Mobile device 200 comprises a processor 201. Processor 201 may representa single processor or two or more processors, which are for instance atleast partially coupled, for instance via a bus. Processor 201 executesa program code stored in program memory 202 (for instance program codecausing mobile device 200 to perform one or more of the embodiments of amethod according to the invention or parts thereof (e.g. the method orparts of the method disclosed below with reference to flowchart 300 ofFIG. 3 ), when executed on processor 201) and interfaces with a mainmemory 203. Program memory 202 may also comprise an operating system forprocessor 201. Some or all of memories 202 and 203 may also be includedinto processor 201.

A program memory (e.g. program memory 202) may for example be anon-volatile memory. It may for instance be a FLASH memory (or a partthereof), any of a ROM, PROM, EPROM, MRAM or a FeRAM (or a part thereof)or a hard disc (or a part thereof), to name but a few examples. Forexample, a program memory may for instance comprise a first memorysection that is fixedly installed, and a second memory section that isremovable, for instance in the form of a removable SD memory card.

A main memory (e.g. main memory 203) may for example be a volatilememory. It may for example be a DRAM memory, to give non-limitingexample. It may for instance be used as a working memory for a processor(e.g. processor 201) when executing an operating system and/or programs.

Processor 201 controls radio interface 204 configured to receive and/ortransmit WLAN radio signals. For instance, radio interface 204 may atleast comprise a WLAN component including a WLAN transmitter (TX) and aWLAN receiver (RX). The transmitter and receiver may also be part of aWLAN transceiver (TRX). The WLAN transmitter enables mobile device 200to transmit WLAN radio signals. Likewise, the WLAN receiver enablesmobile device 200 to receive WLAN radio signals. For example, the radiointerface 204 may be configured to repeatedly scan for observable radiosignals.

Moreover, radio interface 204 may be configured to extract a respectiveBSSID from each WLAN radio signal received when scanning for observableradio signals and to capture, for each WLAN radio signal received whenscanning for observable radio signals, a respective received signalstrength of the respective WLAN radio signal. As a result of theextracting, identifier information representing the BSSID may beobtained. As disclosed above, capturing a received signal strength maybe understood to mean that a received signal strength parameterrepresenting the received signal strength is determined (e.g. measured).An example of such a received signal strength parameter is a receivedsignal strength value in dBm or a received signal strength indicator(RSSI) value. As a result of the capturing, a received signal strengthinformation representing the determined (e.g. measured) received signalstrength parameter may be obtained.

The extracted BSSID (e.g. in form of the identifier information) and thecaptured received signal strength (e.g. in form of the received signalstrength information) may then for example be provided to processor 200.It is to be understood that any computer program code based processingrequired for receiving and processing received WLAN radio signals may bestored in an own memory of the radio interface 204 and executed by anown processor of the radio interface 204 or it may be stored for examplein memory 202 and executed for example by processor 201.

Moreover, processor 201 controls optional motion sensor 205 configuredcapturing a motion of mobile device 200. As disclosed above, capturingthe motion of mobile device 200 may be understood to mean that a motionparameter that is characteristic of the captured motion of the mobiledevice is determined (e.g. measured). Examples of such a motionparameter are a speed parameter representative of a speed value ofmobile device 200 or of a user of mobile device 200, an accelerationparameter representative of an acceleration value of mobile device 200or of a user of mobile device 200, an activity parameter representativeof an activity (e.g. sitting, walking, running, cycling, swimming, etc.)of mobile device 200 or of a user of mobile device 200 or a stepparameter representative of a step length or step count of a user ofmobile device 200. Accordingly the motion sensor 205 may be at least oneof a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, an activity sensor or a stepsensor. As a result of the capturing, a motion information representingthe determined (e.g. measured) motion parameter may be obtained. Thecaptured motion (e.g. in form of the motion information) may then forexample be provided to processor 200. It is to be understood that anycomputer program code required for capturing motion parameters may bestored in an own memory of motion sensor 205 and executed by an ownprocessor of the motion sensor 205 or it may be stored for example inmemory 202 and executed for example by processor 201.

Moreover, processor 201 controls optional user interface 206 configuredto present information to a user of mobile device 200 and/or to receiveinformation from such a user. User interface 206 may for instance be thestandard user interface via which a user of mobile device 200 controlsother functionality thereof. Examples of such a user interface are atouch-sensitive display, a keyboard, a touchpad, a display, etc.

The components 202 to 206 of mobile device 400 may for instance beconnected with processor 201 by means of one or more serial and/orparallel busses.

It is to be understood that mobile device 200 may comprise various othercomponents. For example, mobile device 200 may optionally comprise afurther radio interface configured to receive and/or transmit cellularradio signals like 2G/3G/4G/5G cellular radio signals. As disclosedabove, the 2G/3G/4G/5G cellular radio communication standards aredeveloped by the 3GPP and presently available underhttp://www.3gpp.org/.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart 300 illustrating an exemplary embodiment of amethod according to the invention. Without limiting the scope of theinvention, it is assumed in the following that mobile device 200 ofsystem 100 as described above with respect to FIG. 1 performs the stepsof flow chart 300.

In a step 301, at least one radio signal is received by mobile device200 when scanning for observable radio signals at an observationposition of mobile device 200.

As disclosed above, radio interface 204 of mobile device 200 may beconfigured to repeatedly scan for observable radio signals. The scanningin step 301 may be understood to be one of such repeated scans forobservable radio signals. Therein, the position where the scanning instep 301 is performed is referred to as observation position of mobiledevice 200. In the following, it is assumed for exemplary purposes thatthis observation position corresponds to the position of mobile device200 as shown in FIG. 1 .

A radio signal may be understood to be observable at the observationposition if the radio signal is receivable by mobile device 200 with aminimum quality (e.g. a minimum signal-to-noise ratio and/or a minimumsignal power, e.g. at least −90 dbm or −95 dbm) at the observationposition. In the following, it is further assumed for exemplary purposesthat WLAN radio signals 107 to 109 are receivable by mobile device 200with such a minimum quality at the observation position.

Accordingly, mobile device 200 receives WLAN radio signals 107 to 109when scanning for observable radio signals in step 301.

In an optional step 302, a received signal strength of the at least oneradio signal is captured by mobile device 200 when scanning forobservable radio signals at the observation position, and, in anoptional step 303, an identifier is extracted from the at least oneradio signal by mobile device 200. It is to be understood that optionalstep 302, optional step 303 or both may be part of step 301.

As disclosed above, radio interface 204 may be configured to capture,for each WLAN radio signal received when scanning for observable radiosignals, a respective received signal strength of the respective WLANradio signal and to extract a respective BSSID from each WLAN radiosignal received when scanning for observable radio signals. Accordingly,the received signal strengths of WLAN radio signals 107 to 109 at theobservation position may be captured in step 302; and the BSSIDscontained in or represented by WLAN radio signals 107 to 109 areextracted in step 303.

As a result of the capturing in step 302, received signal strengthinformation representing, for each of WLAN radio signals 107 to 109, arespective received signal strength parameter (e.g. a received signalstrength value in dBm or a received signal strength indicator (RSSI)value) may be obtained; and, as a result of the extracting in step 303,identifier information representing, for each WLAN radio signal, therespective BSSID may be obtained.

As disclosed above, received signal strengths of WLAN radio signals 107to 109 may be used for selecting one or more of WLAN radio signals 107to 109 for further processing. In the following, it is assumed forexemplary purposes, that the WLAN radio signal of WLAN radio signals 107to 109 having the strongest received signal strength (e.g. asrepresented by the received signal strength parameters represented bythe received signal strength information obtained for WLAN radio signals107 to 109 as result of the capturing in step 302) is selected forfurther processing. It is however to be understood that the invention isnot limited to this.

In the exemplary scenario of FIG. 1 , WLAN radio signal 108 has thestrongest received signal strength at the observation position of mobiledevice 200 which is positioned in coffee shop 102, because WLAN radiosignals 107 and 109 are for example attenuated when penetrating thewalls between venues or POIs 101 and 103, respectively, and coffee shop102. Therefore, WLAN radio signal 108 is selected for further processingwhich means that further steps 304 to 306 are only performed for WLANradio signal 108.

In an optional step 304, a motion of mobile device 200 is captured bymobile device 200 when scanning for observable radio signals at theobservation position. It is to be understood that optional step 304 likeoptional steps 302 and 303 may be part of step 301.

As disclosed above, motion sensor 205 is configured for capturing amotion of mobile device 200. As a result of the capturing in step 304, amotion information representing a motion parameter that ischaracteristic of the captured motion of the mobile device may beobtained. Examples of such a motion parameter are a speed parameterrepresentative of a speed value of mobile device 200 or of a user ofmobile device 200, an acceleration parameter representative of anacceleration value of mobile device 200 or of a user of mobile device200, an activity parameter representative of an activity (e.g. sitting,walking, running, cycling, swimming, etc.) of mobile device 200 or of auser of mobile device 200 or a step parameter representative of a steplength or step count of a user of mobile device 200.

In a step 305, a venue associated with the identifier contained in orrepresented by the at least one radio signal is determined or caused tobe determined by mobile device 200 at least partially based on aplurality of venue information items. Therein, causing determining thevenue associated with the identifier contained in or represented by theat least one radio signal may be understood to mean that mobile device200 causes another device (e.g. a server) to perform the determining,for example by transmitting control information to the other deviceconfigured to cause the other device to perform the determining. Forexemplary purposes, it is however assumed in the following that mobiledevice 200 performs the determining in step 305.

For example, the plurality of venue information items is part of a pointof interest (POI) database. In the following it is assumed that such aPOI database is stored in program memory 202 of mobile device 200 andcomprises a plurality of POI data items which correspond to theplurality of venue information items. Each POI data item of theplurality of POI data items may be associated with a respective venue orPOI like newspaper kiosk 101, coffee shop 102 and clothes shop 103 andrepresent information about the respective POI like a name, a geographicposition, a type, opening hours, a visit frequency, contact details(e.g. address, phone number, website address, email address, etc.), alayout of the POI. In the following, it is assumed that each POI dataitem of the plurality of POI data items represents at least a name and alayout of the respective POI or venue associated with the respective POIdata item. An example data format for such a POI data item is theJavaScript Object Notation (JSON) data format or the Extensible MarkupLanguage (XML) data format.

The determining in step 305 may be understood to mean (1) that a matchis determined between the BSSID contained in or represented by WLANradio signal 108 (e.g. as represented by the identifier informationobtained for WLAN radio signal 108 as result of the extracting in step303) and a respective name represented by a respective POI data item ofthe plurality of POI data items and (2) that the venue or POI which isassociated with the POI data item of the plurality of POI data itemsrepresenting the matching name is determined to be associated with theBSSID contained in or represented by WLAN radio signal 108. For example,the match between the BSSID contained in or represented by WLAN radiosignal 108 and the respective name represented by the re respective POIdata item of the plurality of POI data items may be determined based onpredetermined rules like a predetermined matching algorithm, for examplea string searching algorithm or an approximate string matchingalgorithm. As disclosed above, according to a simple matching algorithmthat a match may be determined by, firstly, determining, for each namerepresented by the plurality of POI data items, the respective length ofthe longest substring contained in the respective name and the BSSIDcontained in or represented by WLAN radio signal 108 and by, secondlydetermining the respective name of the respective POI data item of theplurality of POI data items containing the substring having the longestlength (i.e. no other substring has a longer length) to match the BSSID.In the following it is assumed that the determining in step 305 is atleast partially based on this simple matching algorithm. It is howeverto be understood that the present invention is not limited to this.

Considering the above example, the plurality of POI data items maycomprise, for each of newspaper kiosk 101, coffee shop 102 and clothesshop 103, a respective POI data item. The POI data item associated withnewspaper kiosk 101 represents the name “Jim's News”, the POI data itemassociated with coffee shop 102 represents the name “Joe's Coffee Shop”,and the POI data item associated with clothes shop 103 represents thename “Clothes & More”. As disclosed above, WLAN radio signal 108contains or represents “Joe's Coffee Shop—WiFi” as BSSID. Consideringthe three POI data items associated with newspaper kiosk 101, coffeeshop 102 and clothes shop 103, respectively, since the name (i.e. “Joe'sCoffee Shop”) represented by the POI data item associated with coffeeshop 102 shares the substring having the longest length (i.e. no othersubstring has a longer length) with the BSSID (i.e. “Joe's CoffeeShop—WiFi”) contained in or represented by WLAN radio signal 108, amatch between both is determined according to this simple matchingalgorithm. Accordingly, coffee shop 102 is determined to be associatedwith the BSSID contained in or represented by WLAN radio signal 108 instep 305.

In a step 306, a position estimate of the observation position isdetermined or caused to be determined by mobile device 200 at leastpartially based on layout information representing a layout of the venueassociated with the identifier. Therein, causing determining theposition estimate of the observation position may be understood to meanthat mobile device 200 causes another device (e.g. a server) to performthe determining, for example by transmitting control information to theother device configured to cause the other device to perform thedetermining. For exemplary purposes, it is however assumed in thefollowing that mobile device 200 performs the determining in step 306.

The layout of the venue may be understood to be representative of aposition (e.g. a geographic position) of at least one of a certain area(e.g. an entrance or exit area or a common area like a seating area, awaiting area, a walking area or a service or sales area) or a certainfeature (e.g. outer boundaries or walls, an entrance or an exit) of thevenue. An exemplary embodiment of a layout 400 of coffee shop 102 isshown in FIG. 4 . Layout 400 is a floor map of coffee shop 102 andrepresents the position of outer walls or outer boundaries 401, theposition of an exit or entrance area 402, the position of a seating area403 and the position of a service area 404 of coffee shop 102. Forexample, the POI data item associated with coffee shop 102 compriseslayout information representing layout 400.

The layout information representing layout 400 are considered whendetermining when determining the position estimate of the observationposition in step 306. This may be understood to mean that a position ofat least one of a certain area or a certain feature represented bylayout 400 may be determined as position estimate of the observationposition in step 306. To this end, it may be determined based onpredetermined rules in which area or close to which feature of the venuethe observation position of the mobile device is located. As disclosedabove, this determining may for example be based on further informationlike information on whether the at least one radio signal (i.e. WLANradio signal 108) is received for the first time, a motion of mobiledevice 200, a received signal strength or a combination thereof. Forexemplary purposes, it is described in the following how the determiningin step 306 may be based on the motion of mobile device 200 captured inoptional step 304 (as represented by a motion parameter represented bymotion information obtained as a result of the capturing in step 304).It is however to be understood that the invention is not limited tothis.

For example the predetermined rules may specify that, if the motionparameter represented by motion information obtained as a result of thecapturing in step 304 is characteristic that mobile device 200 is/was inmotion (e.g. a user carrying mobile device 200 is/was walking or runningor a speed value is greater than 0.1 m/s) when the motion is/wascaptured in step 304, the position estimate of the observation positionmay be determined to be a position of an entrance or exit area or awalking area of the venue or POI like entrance or exit area 402; and, ifthe motion parameter represented by motion information obtained as aresult of the capturing in step 304 is characteristic that mobile device200 is/was static (e.g. a user carrying mobile device 200 is/was sittingor a speed value of mobile device is equal to or less than 0.1 m/s) whenthe motion is/was captured in step 304, the position estimate of theobservation position may be determined to be a position of a seatingarea or a waiting area of the venue like seating area 403.

In the exemplary scenario of FIG. 1 , the user carrying mobile device200 may for example sit at a table in seating area 403 such that themotion parameter represented by motion information obtained as a resultof the capturing in step 304 is characteristic that mobile device 200is/was static (e.g. a user carrying mobile device 200 is/was sitting ora speed value of mobile device is equal to or less than 0.1 m/s) whenthe motion is/was captured in step 304. Accordingly, the positionestimate of the observation position may be determined to correspond toseating area 403 in step 306. The position estimate may for example berepresented in form of position coordinates (e.g. geographic positioncoordinates like longitude and latitude) representing (1) one or moreboundary points of seating area 403 or (2) a center of seating area 403.

Subsequently, the position estimate of the observation position may bepresented by user interface 206. If user interface 206 is a display, theposition estimate may for example be displayed as a point correspondingto the center of seating area 403 or as an area corresponding to seatingarea 403 in a map view displayed on user interface 206.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of examples of tangible andnon-transitory computer-readable storage media according to the presentinvention that may for instance be used to implement memory 202 of FIG.1 . To this end, FIG. 5 displays a flash memory 500, which may forinstance be soldered or bonded to a printed circuit board, a solid-statedrive 501 comprising a plurality of memory chips (e.g. Flash memorychips), a magnetic hard drive 502, a Secure Digital (SD) card 503, aUniversal Serial Bus (USB) memory stick 504, an optical storage medium505 (such as for instance a CD-ROM or DVD) and a magnetic storage medium506.

Any presented connection in the described embodiments is to beunderstood in a way that the involved components are operationallycoupled. Thus, the connections can be direct or indirect with any numberor combination of intervening elements, and there may be merely afunctional relationship between the components.

Any of the processors mentioned in this text, in particular but notlimited to processor 201 of FIG. 2 could be a processor of any suitabletype. Any processor may comprise but is not limited to one or moremicroprocessors, one or more processor(s) with accompanying digitalsignal processor(s), one or more processor(s) without accompanyingdigital signal processor(s), one or more special-purpose computer chips,one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAS), one or morecontrollers, one or more application-specific integrated circuits(ASICS), or one or more computer(s). The relevant structure/hardware hasbeen programmed in such a way to carry out the described function.

Moreover, any of the actions or steps described or illustrated hereinmay be implemented using executable instructions in a general-purpose orspecial-purpose processor and stored on a computer-readable storagemedium (e.g., disk, memory, or the like) to be executed by such aprocessor. References to ‘computer-readable storage medium’ should beunderstood to encompass specialized circuits such as processors, FPGAs,ASICs, signal processing devices, and other devices.

The wording “A, or B, or C, or a combination thereof” or “at least oneof A, B and C” or “at least one of A, B or C” may be understood to benot exhaustive and to include at least the following: (1) A, or (2) B,or (3) C, or (4) A and B, or (5) A and C, or (6) B and C, or (7) A and Band C.

It will be understood that all presented embodiments are only exemplary,and that any feature presented for a particular exemplary embodiment maybe used with any aspect of the invention on its own or in combinationwith any feature presented for the same or another particular exemplaryembodiment and/or in combination with any other feature not mentioned.It will further be understood that any feature presented for an exampleembodiment in a particular category may also be used in a correspondingmanner in an example embodiment of any other category.

That which is claimed:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by one or moreprocessors, at least one radio signal in response to scanning forobservable radio signals at an observation position of a mobile device,wherein an access point identifier is contained in or represented bysaid at least one radio signal; determining or causing determining, bythe one or more processors, a strength of the at least one radio signal;determining or causing determining, by the one or more processors, thatthe access point identifier substantially matches a point of interest(POI) identifier associated with a particular POI; responsive todetermining that the access point identifier substantially matches thePOI identifier associated with the particular POI, determining orcausing determining, by the one or more processors, a position estimatefor said observation position at least partially based at least on oneor more locations associated with the particular POI, wherein theposition estimate is established relative to the particular POI based,at least in part, on the strength of the at least one radio signal; anddetermining or causing determining, by the one or more processors, aconfidence level of the position estimate, wherein the confidence levelis based, at least in part, on visit frequency information associatedwith the particular POI.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the accesspoint identifier and the POI identifier each include strings ofcharacters, wherein determining or causing determining that the accesspoint identifier substantially matches the POI identifier associatedwith the particular POI comprises determining or causing determiningthat the access point identifier and the POI identifier include a sharedsubstring of the respective strings of characters.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the access point identifier substantially matches POIidentifier in response to the access point identifier including asubstring shared with the POI identifier.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the POI identifier is one of a plurality of POI identifiers,wherein the access point identifier substantially matches the POIidentifier in response to the access point identifier including a sharedsubstring with the POI identifier of more characters than any of theremaining plurality of POI identifiers.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising: obtaining, from a point of interest database of aplurality of venue information items, a venue information itemassociated with the particular POI.
 6. The method of claim 5, whereindetermining or causing determining, by the one or more processors, theposition estimate for said observation position at least partially basedat least on the one or more locations associated with the particular POIcomprises: determining or causing determining, by the one or moreprocessors, the position estimate for said observation position at leastpartially based at least on the one or more locations associated withthe particular POI and the venue information item associated with theparticular POI.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the particular POIcomprises a building, and wherein determining or causing determining, bythe one or more processors, the position estimate for said observationposition at least partially based at least on the one or more locationsassociated with the particular POI and the venue information itemassociated with the particular POI further comprises: determining orcausing determining, by the one or more processors, the positionestimate for said observed position to be distinguished between beinginside the building, outside the building, and in an entrance or exit ofthe building in response to the strength of the at least one radiosignal satisfying a predetermined signal strength.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the particular POI comprises a building, and whereindetermining or causing determining the position estimate establishedrelative to the particular POI based, at least in part, on the strengthof the at least one radio signal comprises determining or causingdetermining that the position estimate is inside the building inresponse to the strength of the at least one radio signal satisfying apredetermined signal strength threshold.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the visit frequency information associated with the particularPOI comprises a visit frequency profile over a period of time asestablished by a plurality of devices.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the visit frequency information associated with the particularPOI comprises visit frequency information of a POI of a same venue typeas a venue type of the particular POI.
 11. An apparatus, said apparatusis one of a mobile device or a module for a mobile device, and saidapparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memorycontaining computer program code, said at least one memory and saidcomputer program code configured to, with said at least one processor,cause said apparatus at least to perform: receive, by one or moreprocessors, at least one radio signal in response to scanning forobservable radio signals at an observation position of a mobile device,wherein an access point identifier is contained in or represented bysaid at least one radio signal; determine or cause determination of, bythe one or more processors, a strength of the at least one radio signal;determine or cause determination, by the one or more processors, thatthe access point identifier substantially matches a point of interest(POI) identifier associated with a particular POI; responsive todetermining that the access point identifier substantially matches thePOI identifier associated with the particular POI, determine or causedetermination of, by the one or more processors, a position estimate forsaid observation position at least partially based at least on one ormore locations associated with the particular POI, wherein the positionestimate is established relative to the particular POI based, at leastin part, on the strength of the at least one radio signal; and determineor cause determination of, by the one or more processors, a confidencelevel of the position estimate, wherein the confidence level is based,at least in part, on visit frequency information associated with theparticular POI.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the access pointidentifier and the POI identifier each include strings of characters,wherein causing the apparatus to determine or cause determination thatthe access point identifier substantially matches the POI identifierassociated with the particular POI comprises causing the apparatus todetermine or cause determination that the access point identifier andthe POI identifier include a shared substring of the respective stringsof characters.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the access pointidentifier substantially matches POI identifier in response to theaccess point identifier including a substring shared with the POIidentifier.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the POI identifier isone of a plurality of POI identifiers, wherein the access pointidentifier substantially matches the POI identifier in response to theaccess point identifier including a shared substring with the POIidentifier of more characters than any of the remaining plurality of POIidentifiers.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the apparatus isfurther caused to: obtain, from a point of interest database of aplurality of venue information items, a venue information itemassociated with the particular POI.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15,wherein causing the apparatus to determine or cause determination of, bythe one or more processors, the position estimate for said observationposition at least partially based at least on the one or more locationsassociated with the particular POI comprises causing the apparatus to:determine or cause determination of, by the one or more processors, theposition estimate for said observation position at least partially basedat least on the one or more locations associated with the particular POIand the venue information item associated with the particular POI. 17.The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the particular POI comprises abuilding, and wherein causing the apparatus to determine or causedetermination of, by the one or more processors, the position estimatefor said observation position at least partially based at least on theone or more locations associated with the particular POI and the venueinformation item associated with the particular POI further comprisescausing the apparatus to: determine or cause determination of, by theone or more processors, the position estimate for said observed positionto be distinguished between being inside the building, outside thebuilding, and in an entrance or exit of the building in response to thestrength of the at least one radio signal satisfying a predeterminedsignal strength.
 18. A non-transitory computer readable storage mediumin which computer program code is stored, the computer program code whenexecuted by a processor causing at least one apparatus, said at leastone apparatus is one of a mobile device or a module for a mobile device,to perform: receive, by one or more processors, at least one radiosignal in response to scanning for observable radio signals at anobservation position of a mobile device, wherein an access pointidentifier is contained in or represented by said at least one radiosignal; determine or cause determination of, by the one or moreprocessors, a strength of the at least one radio signal; determine orcause determination, by the one or more processors, that the accesspoint identifier substantially matches a point of interest (POI)identifier associated with a particular POI; responsive to determiningthat the access point identifier substantially matches the POIidentifier associated with the particular POI, determine or causedetermination of, by the one or more processors, a position estimate forsaid observation position at least partially based at least on one ormore locations associated with the particular POI, wherein the positionestimate is established relative to the particular POI based, at leastin part, on the strength of the at least one radio signal; and determineor cause determination of, by the one or more processors, a confidencelevel of the position estimate, wherein the confidence level is based,at least in part, on visit frequency information associated with theparticular POI.
 19. The non-transitory computer readable storage mediumof claim 18, wherein the access point identifier substantially matchesPOI identifier in response to the access point identifier including asubstring shared with the POI identifier.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the POI identifieris one of a plurality of POI identifiers, wherein the access pointidentifier substantially matches the POI identifier in response to theaccess point identifier including a shared substring with the POIidentifier of more characters than any of the remaining plurality of POIidentifiers.